America's Great Salt Lake may disappear PHOTO

Without urgent and major interventions, America's Great Salt Lake could experience an ecosystem collapse in the next few years.

In a worst-case scenario, according to findings presented at the Geological Society of America's 2022 Connects Conference in Colorado this past weekend, the world-famous body of salt water has just a few months before ecological recovery is significantly impeded by rising salinity levels, according to Science Alert.

Water from the rivers feeding into Utah's vast lake has been diverted for human consumption for more than a century. A 2017 study estimated that each year a total of 3.3 trillion litres of water is rerouted before reaching the lake, largely for drinking water and agriculture.

Since then, the state has slipped into a megadrought, further reducing the amount of freshwater entering the lake and setting a new record for the lowest water levels ever recorded.

Reports from earlier this year estimate the Great Salt Lake has shrunk by two-thirds since the 1980s, and the dramatic drop is exposing a precious ecosystem that people, industry, and animals all collectively depend on.

"This is not the type of record we like to break," Utah Department of Natural Resources Executive Director Joel Ferry said earlier this year.

"Urgent action is needed to help protect and preserve this critical resource. It's clear the lake is in trouble."

Utah's lake is one of the very few places on Earth where mineralized underwater reefs known as microbialities still grow.

These structures might resemble rocks but are actually dense concentrations of algae and bacteria. In fossil form, they are known as stromatolites and are considered the oldest evidence of life on Earth.

As water levels in the Great Salt Lake continue to drop, the modern versions of these 'living fossils' are rapidly drying out. As the underwater microbial mats meet the air, they turn from dark green to white. The bleached remains appear to recover only when returned to the water of a suitable salinity.

The problem is, as the Great Salt Lake shrinks, it is becoming increasingly concentrated with salt. In 2022, researchers measured salinity levels as high as 26 per cent in some spots; a vast difference from a more typical lake salinity of around 15 per cent.

Under these extreme conditions, biologist Carie Frantz of Weber State University says microbial mat recovery is very weak and slow.

Dust and mercury pollution could also be a problem in the future if the lake continues to dry out. When a lake in California met the same fate, local residents suffered far more from asthma and cardiovascular issues.

According to a recent report from The New York Times, the lake's bed also holds high levels of arsenic. If the shoreline continues to recede and expose the lakebed to the wind, it's possible that these poisons will be carried into the lungs of people living nearby.

Salt Lake City legislators have made some attempts to conserve water in the region, but researchers are worried these changes are not keeping pace with climate change or rising water demands.